Ron's True Colors
by lightblue-Nymphadora
Summary: The colors of Ron Weasley's life. Post-War fic
1. Green

**_LbN: So Ron's colors were the winners of the last poll. Here's his story!_**

**True Colors: Ron**

He felt hollow. Ignoring the torrent of rain that was currently pouring down on his head, Ron continued walking. The fact that he had to walk through a park to get to his destination just seemed to be mocking him; parks were for fun. At least the trees were giving him a little cover from the rain; the leaves grew thick here. A small yellow flower made the mistake of growing in his path, and got a kick for it. Ron could take the green of the trees, vibrant but dark enough to suit his mood; but yellow was too much. He finally made his way out of the shelter of the trees and back onto the street. It wasn't very much farther.

The townhouse on the corner was made of red brick and had little window gardens. Ron had always said that it looked far too normal for the man who'd picked it, but hey, people surprise you sometimes. He rang the bell and waited patiently, even though he was drenched and it was still raining. Footsteps approached the door and a pair of blue eyes peeked out of the curtain at him, before turning and yelling something about not being able to reach the door. A moment later, Katie Bell appeared, holding the hand of Ron's niece, Cassidy.

"Unc' Ron!" the three year old cried with a comic expression of shock. "You gonna catch 'monia!"

He let the little girl pull him into the foyer and smiled as she ran off to get towels. Katie gave him a look, but before she could ask any of the obvious questions, he cut her off.

"Is George home?" he asked.

"Sure," she nodded. "George! Feel like telling me why you didn't Apparate or Floo over here instead?"

"Needed the walk. I wanted to clear my head a bit."

"If you say so," Katie shook her head as she wrung the water out of his robe. With a flick of her wand, she dried the clothes he had on. She summoned the mop, but Ron took it from her as she went to start cleaning.

"I made the mess," he smiled sadly.

"Ron?" George appeared at the top of the stairs, hair slightly singed. At the inquisitive looks he was receiving, he grinned and said, "Not to worry. Just a slight miscalculation in the lab."

"Come on Cas, help me start lunch," Katie picked her up and carried her into the kitchen.

"What's going on Ron?" George asked, opening the door to the study. The two of them went in and sat down on the small couch.

"I was…er…wondering, could I stay here a while?" Ron asked, not meeting George's gaze.

"Why? Aren't you staying at the dorms?"

"Not anymore," Ron shook his head. "I flunked out of the Auror program…"

"Huh?"

"I failed Stealth and Tracking, and almost failed Defensive Tactics. Apparently they don't think I'm cut out for it."

The resignation in Ron's voice was heartbreaking. He sounded as if someone had told him there'd be no more birthdays or rainbows ever again…George was trying to think of something consoling to say when Ron spoke again.

"They told me I had a week to make arrangements, but I really don't want to go home. I can't handle Mum right now. I know she means well, but…I really wanted this, and it's my fault I didn't make it; no one else's. Her getting aggravated on my behalf'll just rub it in."

"Course you can stay, Ron," George squeezed his shoulder. "You can take the guest room."

"Katie'll be okay with this?"

"Sure she will. Let's go grab lunch; they're probably done with it."

"Actually George, I'm a little tired. Okay if I skive off? I'll be more social at dinner," Ron smiled.

"That's fine," George chuckled. "See you at dinner."

With a sneeze, Ron exited the office and began climbing the stairs. He smiled when he heard a worried whisper below him.

"Unc' Ron gonna catch 'monia?"

"No sweetie," Katie answered. "He'll be fine."

Despite hearing this reassurance, Ron went to sleep with his most recent shortcoming on his mind…

**_LbN: It'll get happier, I promise! Review please!!_**


	2. Black

**_LbN: Hey guys! A little bit happier chapter this time..._**

**True Colors**

The next morning, Ron woke up to the smell of fried eggs and the sound of tapping at his window. He made his way, very groggily, to the window and let the owl in. It deposited a letter and whooted before taking off out the window again. With a yawn, Ron opened the letter and groaned. Normally he was very happy to get mail from Hermione, but he could literally hear her worried voice as he read the letter:

_Hi Ron! What's happening there? Harry sent me a message saying I should write to you soon, but he didn't tell me what was up. From his Patronus' voice it didn't sound like he was just being a good wingman. Is everything okay? I miss you a lot. My research is going really well, but I'm definitely ready to come home. We should be leaving Brazil in about a week, but we're just here at the station if you want to write back to me. Can't wait to see you!_

_Hermione _

He smoothed the paper out on his bed and reread it several times. How do you explain to the smartest witch of the century, renowned for founding her own Potions research facility (Granger Studies Inc.), that you'd failed out of training for a job? The problem was that he wasn't quick on his feet, like Harry had been. He liked problems, but he liked the ones that didn't require a solution in a split second. He'd hesitated and was one of the three that got caught. Thank god it had been compound training (missions inside the complex with the officers) instead of field training. But the clincher had been when he'd gotten his test scores back yesterday after breakfast. They'd been quick to chuck him out after that.

With a sigh, Ron went over to his trunk (the school had sent it over the night before) and took out his writing things. After a moment of intense suffering, he pulled the parchment a bit closer to him and wrote:

_**Hey there Hermione,**_

_**I'm better now. I got kicked out of the Auror program yesterday and kind of took off without telling Harry where I was going. I'll talk to him, don't worry. To make a long story short, we were taking the practical exam for Stealth and Tracking and I didn't know which suspect to follow. Harry had already taken off, so I couldn't just follow him. Plus, I got my marks back for Defensive Tactics and they just barely made the cut. The officers seemed to think I'm not cut out for the job; and personally, I think they're right. I'm just glad they let me out before I hurt myself. It's alright; I'm taking a job at the twins' shop. Not as glamorous as the Auror bit, but at least I'm employed! I know you're giving me the look now, but really, I'm fine. I know the days when I could do everything Harry did are long gone; it's no big deal. Well, that's a lie. It is a big deal; I wanted this job. But I'm not about to jump off a cliff about it or anything. Enough about me though, I'm glad your research is going well! I can't wait to hear all about your trip. Come home to me soon, alright? **_

_**Ron**_

Ron watched as the black ink seeped into the parchment, smiling a bit as it turned from shiny to dull, drying. He hadn't been happy about it, but he'd told the truth. Throwing on a shirt, he grabbed the letter and some ribbon to tie it and stepped into the hall. Just past Cassidy's room was a small alcove where they kept the family owls. He tied the letter to one, gave it an owl treat and opened the window for it to fly out. Happy about the fact that he'd soon be seeing his girlfriend, he decided to go down to breakfast. On his way to the stairs, a small sleepy head peeked out of one of the doorways.

"Hi Unc' Ron," Cassidy yawned.

"Hey there Cas," he smiled, picking her up. He chuckled a bit when he looked at her; she'd fallen asleep in her mini Hogwarts uniform. "Ready for breakfast?"

"Yuppers. You feeling better from last night? Didn't catch 'monia didya?"

"No," Ron laughed. "I didn't catch pneumonia. Morning Katie!"

"Good morning Ron," Katie smiled as he set Cassidy into her high chair. "Eggs and toast?"

"Yes please," he nodded, accepting the offered plate.

"George went ahead to the shop to meet Fred. They're doing inventory before the mid-month rush, but he said to just turn up whenever you're ready."

"Right, thanks!" Ron said.

"Can I go wif you Unc' Ron?" Cassidy asked through a mouthful of egg.

"Not today Cas," Katie answered for him. "You and I have to go see Aunt Angelina, remember?"

"Yay! Auntie Lina!!" the three year old shrieked.

With a chuckled, Ron finished his toast, ruffled Cassidy's hair, and went back upstairs to get ready for work.

**_LbN: Hope you liked it! Send reviews!!_**


	3. Blue

**_LbN: Last chapter! Hope you like it!_**

**True Colors**

Patience wasn't normally the word one would use to describe Fred and George. The twins always had to be moving and weren't all that fond of having to do things five million times unless they were fun things. However, the pair of them had been extremely patient in teaching Ron the joke shop business; and Ron had caught on pretty quickly. Today was different. Ron had a major case of "the fuck its" and couldn't be disciplined in any sense of the word.

"Bloody hell Ron," Fred rolled his eyes. "Just go and get ready, we'll close up."

"Sorry mate," Ron grinned, picking up the fallen boxes of Edible Dark Marks. "I'll be better tomorrow, promise."

"Don't worry," Fred grinned. "I'd be a wreck too if I hadn't seen Angelina in five months."

"Yeah," George nodded, climbing down off of the ladder. Standing back to admire the sign he'd just hung (Chilling Chocolates- the newest edition to our famous Skiving Snack Boxes!), he threw Ron the house keys. "Go ahead home, and tell Hermione hi from us."

"Cheers guys!" Ron waved as he exited the shop.

An hour and a half later, he was standing outside of Merlin's Ballroom; his and Hermione's favorite "special occasion" restaurant. He wiped his hands on his tux jacket and checked his watch again. She wasn't late, he was just nervous as hell. He turned a second later, hearing the clicking of heals, and his mouth fell open. Hermione was walking toward him, wearing a midnight blue dress, hair down around her shoulders. She grinned and ran toward him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"It's so good to see you!" she said, hugging him half to death.

"You too," Ron smiled brightly. "You look…wonderful. You tanned!"

"Five months hunting for exotic plants in the Amazon Basin will do that for you," she said, taking his arm. "Shall we?"

The entered the chandelier lit foyer and turned down the left hallway. An usher silently led them into a small room where a table and chairs had been set up. Hermione smiled up at the youngest Weasley male as he held her chair out for her.

"Ron, you're so romantic," she smiled.

"Every once in a while," he said. After he sat down, he said, "So, tell me everything."

"Well, there's not much to tell. We've been researching antidotes for uncommon poisons, and one of the team members (Natalia) is from Uruguay. She'd been to Brazil a bunch of times before and figured she knew some places to look. She didn't. We spent the first two months looking for these roots in completely the wrong place before we decided to regroup and start over. We hit gold around July, which made the heat a little less ridiculous. Only a little though; it was horrid."

"So you guys found the roots?"

"Pink Brazilian Mushrooms," she nodded. "Didn't know they were poisonous though, so we spent the end of that month recovering from the fumes…"

Ron choked on his water.

"Excuse me?" he sputtered. She'd left that bit out of the letters…

"Well, you have to stew mushrooms when you want to use them in antidotes right? Well, the fumes were slightly poisonous and we all got sick. It could've been much worse; we just had upset stomachs and headaches for a while…but after that was when we got to work. All of it's pretty boring if you don't like potions though."

"Tell me," Ron smiled as the waiter delivered their salads.

"We found that the mushrooms increase the…potency, shall we say? Of whatever remedy you put it in; including hangover cures…"

"Something you need to tell me?" Ron laughed.

"Not me! Markus got drunk off his tits one night and decided to add the mushrooms the next morning. I was yelling at him for coming to work plastered so I don't think he really cared if it ended up killing him. Anyway, we filled enough files to get funding for the next three years. Kingsley's already signed the papers for grants, so we're going to be building a permanent research center in Brazil."

"That's great Hermione!" Ron said, ecstatic. "Have you told anyone else?"

"Nope!" she smiled. "I wanted to share the good news with you first. So, want to talk about your time while I was away?"

"Not really," Ron smirked. "It was hard, but I'm over it mostly. Plus, I have something a bit more interesting to talk about."

"What?"

"Fred and George put me in charge of…oh, what did they call it? Forget the title, but the gist of it is I get to come up with the designs and packaging of their products. I was messing around with some of their Wonder Witch products and repackaged some stuff. They liked it and pretty much said, 'Go ahead and screw around for the rest of the day'. So I've got a permanent spot now."

"That's great!" Hermione smiled. "I'm sure they're psyched to have you there."

They sat quietly for a while, eating their food. Finally, Ron broke the silence.

"I'm glad you're back, Hermione."

She leaned over and kissed him, blue dress skimming against the red table cloth.

"Glad to be back, Ron."

**_LbN: Hope you liked it! Send reviews, por favor. Tonks' story's next!_**


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